It's officially draft season here at the Ultimate Football Blog and here is all the information you need to keep you up-to-date on all the latest happenings in the NFL.......
The Ultimate Football Blog:
NFL Draft Guide
5th Edition
Underclassmen Who Have Declared For The Draft:
-Nelson Agholor: WR (USC)
-Jay Ayaji: RB (Boise State)
-Kwon Alexander: LB (LSU)
-Delon Barnes: DE (Penn State)
-Malcolm Brown: DT (Texas)
-Alex Carter: CB (Stanford)
-Sammie Coates: WR (Auburn)
-Tevin Coleman: RB (Indiana)
-Jalen Collins: CB (LSU)
-Landon Collins: S (Alabama)
-Amari Cooper: WR (Alabama)
-Xavier Cooper: DE (Washington State)
-Christian Covington: DT (Rice)
-Ronald Darby: CB (Florida State)
-Mike Davis: RB (South Carolina)
-Stefon Diggs: WR (Maryland)
-Lorenzo Doss: CB (Tulane)
-Lemar Durant: WR (Simon Fraser)
-Mario Edwards Jr.: DE (Florida State)
-Durrell Eskridge: FS (Syracuse)
-Ereck Flowers: OT (Miami)
-Dante Fowler: DE (Florida)
-Devin Funchess: WR/TE (Michigan)
-Melvin Gordon: RB (Wisconsin)
-Dorial Green-Beckham: WR (Oklahoma)
-Deontay Greenberry: WR (Houston)
-Randy Gregory: DE (Nebraska)
-Todd Gurley: RB (Georgia)
-Chris Hackett: S (TCU)
-Eli Harold: DE (Virginia)
-Chris Harper: WR (California)
-Dee Hart: RB (Colorado State)
-Gerod Holliman: S (Louisville)
-D.J. Humphries: OT (Florida)
-Brett Hundley: QB (UCLA)
-Danielle Hunter: DE (LSU)
-Jesse James: TE (Penn State)
-Duke Johnson: RB (Miami)
-Matt Jones: RB (Florida)
-Nigel King: WR (Kansas)
-Tyler Kroft: TE (Rutgers)
-Benardrick McKinney: OLB (Mississippi State)
-Tyler Moore: G (Florida)
-Rakeem Nunez-Roches: DT (Southern Mississippi)
-Andrus Peat: OT (Stanford)
-Marcus Peters: CB (Washington)
-Jordan Phillips: DT (Oklahoma)
-Bradley Pinion: P (Clemson)
-Jeremiah Poutasi: OT (Utah)
-Shane Ray: DE (Missouri)
-Josh Robinson: RB (Mississippi State)
-Shaq Roland: WR (South Carolina)
-James Sample: S (Louisville)
-Jeff Sifrin: TE (UMass)
-Noah Spence: DE (Ohio State)
-Donovan Smith: OT (Penn State)
-Jaelen Strong: WR (Arizona State)
-Shaq Thompson: LB (Washington)
-Max Valles: LB (Virginia)
-Trae Waynes: CB (Michigan State)
-Leonard Williams: DL (USC)
-Maxx Williams: TE (Minnesota)
-P.J. Williams: CB (Florida State)
-Trey Williams: RB (Texas A&M)
-Jameis Winston: QB (Florida State)
-T.J. Yeldon: RB (Alabama)
Final NFL Draft Order:
This is the final order for the NFL Draft that will be held this Spring)
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2. Tennessee Titans
3. Jacksonville Jaguars
4. Oakland Raiders
5. Washington Redskins
6. New York Jets
7. Chicago Bears
8. Atlanta Falcons
9. New York Giants
10. St. Louis Rams
11. Minnesota Vikings
12. Cleveland Browns
13. New Orleans Saints
14. Miami Dolphins
15. San Francisco 49ers
16. Houston Texans
17. San Diego Chargers
18. Kansas City Chiefs
19. Cleveland Browns (from Buffalo)
20. Philadelphia Eagles
21. Cincinnati Bengals
22. Pittsburgh Steelers
23. Detroit Lions
24. Arizona Cardinals
25. Carolina Panthers
26. Baltimore Ravens
27. Indianapolis Colts
28. Dallas Cowboys
29. Green Bay Packers
30. Denver Broncos
31. New England Patriots
32. Seattle Seahawks
(In this space, you will find a full blown mock draft. For the time being, I will be featuring an expert's mock draft until the end of the football season when mine will be officially released. Contain your excitement.....)
1. Tampa Bay Bucccaneers: Marcus Mariota - QB (Oregon)
2. Tennessee Titans: Jameis Winston - QB (Florida State)
3. Jacksonville Jaguars: Leonard Williams - DE (USC)
4. Oakland Raiders: Randy Gregory - DE (Nebraska)
5. Washington Redskins: Ronnie Stanley - OT (Notre Dame)
6. New York Jets: Amari Cooper - WR (Alabama)
7. Chicago Bears: Shane Ray - DE (Missouri)
8. Atlanta Falcons: Dante Fowler - DE (Florida)
9. New York Giants: Andrus Peat - OT (Stanford)
10. St. Louis Rams: Ereck Flowers - OT (Miami)
11. Minnesota Vikings: Brandon Scherff - OT (Iowa)
12. Cleveland Browns: Kevin White - WR (West Virginia)
13. New Orleans Saints: P.J. Williams - CB (Florida State)
14. Miami Dolphins: Eddie Goldman - DT (Florida State)
15. San Francisco 49ers - Devante Parker - WR (Louisville)
16. Houston Texans: Landon Collins - S (Alabama)
17. San Diego Chargers: Melvin Gordon - RB (Wisconsin)
18. Kansas City Chiefs: Jaelen Strong - WR (Arizona State)
19. Cleveland Browns: Danny Shelton - DT (Washington)
20. Philadelphia Eagles: Trae Waynes - CB (Michigan State)
21. Cincinnati Bengals: Alvin Dupree - DE (Kentucky)
22. Pittsburgh Steelers: Kevin Johnson - CB (Wake Forest)
23. Detroit Lions: Todd Gurley - RB (Georgia)
24. Arizona Cardinals: Vic Beasley - DE (Clemson)
25. Carolina Panthers: La'El Collins - OL (LSU)
26. Baltimore Ravens: Ronald Darby - CB (Florida State)
27. Indianapolis Colts: Eli Harold - DE (Virginia)
28. Dallas Cowboys: Shilique Calhoun - DE (Michigan State)
29. Green Bay Packers: Shaq Thompson - LB (Washington)
30. Denver Broncos: Cedric Ogbuehi - OT (Texas A&M)
31. New England Patriots: Cameron Erving - OL (Florida State)
32. Seattle Seahawks: Sammie Coates - WR (Auburn)
-As the draft process moves along, players will continuously get put under a microscope as NFL "experts" try and predict how this player will turn out in the NFL. It seems like every year we have one prospect who people can't seem to agree on (last year, it was Teddy Bridgewater). This year, that guy is Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. Mariota was widely regarded as the top quarterback prospect heading into the draft, but the more NFL scouts watch Mariota on tape, the less they like him. A big reason for that is the offense that Oregon runs. Oregon doesn't ask Mariota to make a lot of NFL-type throws. The WR's in Oregon's offense are wide open and all they need is for Mariota to float the ball into their hands. That rarely happens in the NFL. In the NFL, the defenses are better and faster and WR's are rarely as open as they are in college. The time the QB has to throw the ball into the window that the WR has is extremely small and you really have to be accurate and have some zip on the ball to make those throws. We aren't sure Mariota has that yet because he hasn't been asked to do it. Mariota also struggles at times with his deep ball. He has a tendency to overthrow wide-open wide receiver's at times. The good news is, those are all things that Marcus can work on and improve upon. Mariota has the skills you would want in an NFL QB that you can't teach (football intelligence, a willingness to learn, athleticism, leadership, maturity, etc.), so that has to get some NFL teams excited. I've mentioned from day one that I don't think Marcus Mariota is a "start right away" NFL QB. He's a project, but he's also a project that could pay off tremendously if handled right (think Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson....).
-There were reports out of Tennessee this past week that Titans officials were actually pleased with the progress of rookie QB Zach Mettenberger this past season and were considering moving forward with him as their QB. Those rumors look to be debunked now as word out of Titan-land is that the team won't hesitate to grab Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota if the team feels they are a better prospect than Mettenberger. In related-news, we'll likely see Mariota or Winston in a Titan uniform next season.
